How is an instructor able to prevent students from seeing course materials that they don't want them to see yet?

System Controls

Term Dates (First day of each semester, last day of each semester)

Instructor Controls

Publish Course
*Override Term Dates (Settings - choose other Start and End dates, check box that reads "Students can only participate in course between these dates") Select this link for tutorial.
Publish/unpublish modules
Publish/unpublish individual items in modules
Set availability dates in assignments of all types (quizzes, discussions, assignments)
Lock/Unlock Modules
Customize course navigation

*Please keep in mind that it is considered a best practice to allow students access to a course for several days following final exams in order to view final exam scores and final instructor feedback. Select your ending dates with this practice in mind.

Common Student Errors of Navigation and Access

While Canvas is a fairly intuitive system for most users, there are instances in which students experience confusion over where to go and what to do.

Consider that the first thing students see upon login is the Dashboard. On the Dashboard, they will see an icon representing each of the courses in which they are enrolled. They enter a course by selecting the icon it represents. However, other Dashboard items can distract some students. The To Do list on the right side of the screen highlights upcoming assignments, quizzes, and discussions in the course and provides links to those activities. Some students go directly to an assignment from the To Do list and bypass the Course icon and all of the other course materials they would see if they accessed the entire course. Alternatively, they may go to the Calendar and navigate to assignments from live links to assignments provided there.

Other students may skip the Modules page, and instead go directly to Assignments, Quizzes, or Discussions links if they are available in the navigation pane. The Navigation links are subject to customization by the instructor; think through how you would like students to move through your course. Most instructors create a Home page with an instructor biography, a reiteration of contact information and office hours, the name and publication data for the course textbook, a link to the course syllabus, and some instructions of where to go to begin the course. Typically, they will direct students to the Modules page, where the instructor has created links to all resources and assignments. Once you have a navigation plan in mind, you can customize the navigation bar following these directions.